2012-09-28
2012-10-06
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and john kerry fought it out every day about the war. in 2008 we were at war, and barack obama and john mccain fought it out every day in that war. this week when the financial crisis was absolutely on fire, at that debate, they were talking about the wars. this year, president obama does bring it up, he does bring it up at most of his stump speeches, how he explains what he has done and planning on doing talking about the two wars. he doesn't have to say much more because he's speaking to an empty room. the romney campaign has no identifiable position on afghanistan. they have been unwilling and unable to hold up that side of debate and so regardless of what it means for the candidates as a country we are deprived of a national discussion about a war we are in. 70,000 american families having skin in the game right now. we have -- that's part of the reason i'm looking forward to the debates. some ways sort of a post-policy campaign. and you can't do that in a debate, at least unless the debate is really bad. >> this is -- this is billed as a domestic policy debate, but -- and there are so

of the senate foreign relations committee, john kerry, wants more answers, co-signing a bipartisan letter asking for more details. but he told nbc's andrea mitchell that it should not be a partisan issue. >> the republicans are working overtime to try to exploit a very normal, run of the course, administrative letter that we agreed to on a bipartisan basis in our committee, simply to get some additional questions put in front of the state department. >> reporter: republicans also question how good the investigation can be when security concerns have stopped an fbi team from getting to the crime scene, having to work instead from libya's capitol city of tripoli, 400 miles away. a official said that while that is limited, it is more important to question people in libya thought to know about the attack. and he says the process is yielding more valuable information. one other note, peter king, chairman of the house committee, said that ambassador susan rice should resign because of her statement. >>> all right, we want to turn to andrea mitchell, chief foreign correspondent, and andrea how rare is

in as obama during john mccain's 2008 prep. the president practicing with jor kerry playing the role of romney. kerry is a good fit since the parallels between his '04 and current one is overwhelming. can romney get the post-debate bounce kerry did in '04 and take it one step further and turn it into something kerry couldn't do eight years ago. in '04 president bush had a six-point lead before the debates but kerry's performance boosted him tying the men for the final debate but it was senator kerry in december '04 and not president elect kerry. the national polls are close her today than eight years ago but the numbers in key battlegrounds today tell an obama victory story. democratic strategist steve el mendorf, kerry's deputy campaign manager in '04. how are you? >> good, how are you. >> tell me about why your guy won the debates and lost the election and what that says potentially about this dynamic and this race right now is this. >> i think any challenger has a benefit when they get up on the stage against the president of the united states. the debates level the playing field. they put

? inquiring politicians want to know and not just republican ones. democrat john kerry wants to get to the bottom of what u.s. authorities knew about escalating terror threats in libya. supposedly there were 20 cables warning the state department how to proceed at the embassy including pole from the late ambassador chris stevens himself why governor huckabee says this is escalating fast. when democrats want to know the chain of evens here, this goes beyond a political thing. >>governor huckabee: it does and it should. this is not about the politics of this election, this is about the integrity of the white house and whether or not we are going to stand by and allow our government to openly lie to us about why did chris stevens die? why did three other americans die with him? what did we know? when did we know it? why do we continue to blame a 13 minute youtube video when it was over didn't this was not a spontaneous mob. that was the official story that came from the white house and the state department. >>neil: what do you think might have been the reason for not calling it a terro

for the "daily beast "the adviser and consultant of course for john kerry. and larry sabato who runs the university of virginia center for pol techs. larry, let me start with you. you're kind of the man in the middle here. where do you think the race stands right now? >> bob, i think the president is ahead. at my crystal ball station we have him at 290 electoral votes but some of those states are just barely leaning to him, like my native virginia. obama is ahead two or three points. the polls have him up higher than that, but i don't think he's really there. >> schieffer: ar let me just go to our map of the battled ground states here, nevada, new hampshire, north carolina, ohio, virginia, florida, iowa, wisconsin and colorado. i think most of the polls suggest now that the president is at least slightly ahead in all of these states, except possibly north carolina. cbs news is now calling ohio in fact leaning, leaning to the president not a toss-up state. does that sound about right to you? >> that sounds about right. i actually think north carolina is probably leaning to romney, des

is the mock mitt romney, if you will, john kerry, senator john kerry of massachusetts, he also battle tested. he had his own experience in these debates in 2004. people forget he had a series of epic debates debating a republican governor of massachusetts who challenged him for his senate seat back in 1996. that was bill welles. so it's going to be intense, and as you mentioned, he leaves tomorrow, has one event on the ground when he leaves for nevada. then he goes to ground, training at altitude, because the debate is in the mile-high city of denver. but we don't expect to see much of him. he's going to be doing a lot of practicing for that debate wednesday night. >> this is president obama's first debate since 2008. governor romney had what seemed like 163 primary debates earlier this year. how confident are the president's advisers that he's not a tad rusty? >> reporter: you know, i think that that's something, a story line that they would like to promote. what we've seen, it's almost comica comical, to the extent we've seen both camps downplayings the expectations. so much of life is exp

the debates, but george w. bush exceeded his expectations and did fine. four years later, john kerry at least in some of the eyes probably was a better debater but didn't necessarily matter. chuck is right, it is difficult to reset it. but there are a lot of voters who are completely fine with a new president, i think, even some people who voted for president obama. i was talking to a voter a week ago in wisconsin and said he voted for obama four years ago and not sure at all. he is open to voting for governor romney if he knew what he stood for. that is governor romney's charge here to put some meat on the bones of what he stands for on his policies. and people are open to that. >> jim, imagine yourself as a debate moderator this week and put on your mask and go with it. what kind of questions would you like to see these candidates address that will actually speak to the concerns you hear voters have about the future of this country? >> there is one question and i don't want to tell jim what to do but ask it different ways, and that is how in the world what you are proposing enough to get th

-islamic film. they say it was a coordinated terrorist attack. democratic chairman john kerry defending her today, i'm deeply disturbed by efforts to find the politics instead of finding the facts in this debate. it killed four americans including chris stevens. i'm i'll see you right here at 6:00 p.m. eastern on the fox news channel. >> paul: hillary clinton suggested that the consulate attack in benghazi involved the al-qaeda affiliate in north africa it was like will goly the work of the terrorist group. that admission led to many questions what took the administration so long with john mccain and lindsay graham issuing this statement. we recognize that al-qaeda involvement in the terrorist

ability, call it what y you -- is compounded by the .747% remember john kerry? voted $47 billion, i against i" this plays into the negative of mitt romney as an aloof, detached, uncaring, just empathy forow n in his social bracket.ic >> from m the politico piece --- "where is the moment where romney sings the praises of the waitresstiff, the shift?"a double mike huckabee told jay leno that romney reminds you of the guy you.ired >> romney isis not going to be e your pain. feels not a great politician. one of the reason at this -- it did not come . of nowowhere out of tens of million ads by the obama he handledbout how ith bain capital and all that. other essence was the series thasay he wants to produce taxes on the rich. reduce taxes on the e rich. romney has protested that that true, that he wants to the rich buttes on theitted to reform that share paid in taxes by the rich not change. he says that in intnterviews but never spell that out in way that would d get attention. meme is that t he wants to cut taxes on the rich, but the not, andthahat he would never stood up and w way tha

terrorist attack. democratic chairman john kerry defending her today, i'm deeply disturbed by efforts to find the

on upon exit polls, they thought john kerry was going to be president. >> fox news apparently that night, they thought john kerry was going to win until the very end. >> and you have to remember the down ballot races matter a lot. >> congress and senate. >> then republicans are going, they need to redouble their efforts to retake the senate and that's looking dicesy. that's why president obama had active efforts in texas in 2008 because those down ballot races really matter for the future and for your leverage when you come into office. >> thanks to all three and please let us now whether you think the polls are actually reflecting the real numbers right now. >>> next, there are very conflicting stories about what happened that night in libya. it is now being called benghazi gate and police arrive at a gruesome murder scene and find a young television star dead in the driveway. >>> benjamin netanyahu drew a red line, literally, had the big, fat, wasn't a skinny little sharpie. it was a fat, red line. >>> our second story, the prime minister of israel literally drew a red line for iran's

with you a little bit. you go back to 2004. john kerry went into the '04 debates down six or seven points in the polls to bush. he ended up losing by two or three points. romney's only down three points. romney needs to carry -- >> but he didn't win. here's the other thing. the average going back to 68, the average undecided has been 13.5%. right now, you have a small undecided electorate out there. you've had $72 million spent by the super pacs attacking the president. what is mitt romney going to say that $72 million hasn't said about the president? is he going to sing -- >> please, no singing. >> isn't it the truth that voters discount what is said in ads, because they already think it's spined and they trust a little bit more what the candidates say? >> people hate negative ads. >> there's a reason why they keep doing it, because they work. >> here's the bottom line, though. annual one of five are watching it. the persuadable voters are watching "american idol" or "dancing with the stars." >> they're going to hear the news the next day. >> the opinion makers, the people that they talk

relations committee chaired by democrat john kerry wrote the state department, they want to know if the u.s. had any intelligence a possible attack and if security forces assigned to our missions were well-equipped and what the forces did to protect personnel when they came under fire. one republican on the committee says the story right now just does not add up. >> the responses have been, have been varying degrees of what's happened. we have not been told clearly what has happened and i think the window has closed. now this is turning into something not short of benghazi-gate. >> reporter: many leaders on capitol hill were briefed by intel and administration officials days after the attack but were told the focus of the briefings was the anti-islam video, not terrorism and some of those leaders are not pleased about that. bill: i bet. peter doocy following that today on a friday. thanks. martha. martha: a majority of people are not happy with the way president obama handled the situation in libya. look at brand new fox news polls we've got in. 43% of likely voters say they disapprove ho

while obama is working with senator john kerry. latest polls covered with that 47% remark hurting romney. in the battleground state of pennsylvania today. >> -- make sure america leads in our homes, in our economy and in our military. i need something from you. that's my commitment to you. i need you to go out and find somebody who voted for barack obama and get him to vote for me. >> he's down but not out. can he turn it around with an october surprise? let's welcome stephanie cutter. it's going reasonably well for you guys. it's been a good couple weeks, really since the conventions. you've got a bit of momentum but i guess you're not taking this too complacently. >> no, absolutely not, piers. you know, debates can be a pivotal moment in campaigns. i remember eight years ago when john kerry was getting ready to debate george bush, we were eight points down. coming out of that first debate we were tied with george bush. so there is an opportunity for mitt romney if he takes advantage of it next wednesday night, to turn the momentum around. he not only has to win this debate but has to c

the expectations game. >> oh, big time, they're trying to play that expectations game and got senator john kerry playing the role of mitt romney, and familiar with his record pack in massachusetts and familiar with this kind of podium and stage and the obama campaign is trying to stay woe is the president hasn't debated in four years, since he went toe to toe, a day job and commander-in-chief and only a few practice sessions not enough time like mitt romney has had to practice and then as you mentioned david plouffe who is on some of the sunday talk shows today. trying to lift expectations on the other side by mitt romney, saying he got an awful lot of practice back in that long drawn out republican primary, take a listen. >> listen, he's prepared more than any candidate i think maybe in history. certainly in recent memory. we believe that governor romney has been a good debater in the past, he's very prepared and the clever zingers and lines in hess pocket and we understand that he'll probably have a good night. >> and the obama camp feels good after what chris christie did said it's going to b

taking constructive criticism? is he bristoling? responding to jibes from john kerry playing mitt romney? >> well, the mood is a lot of hard work, you know, he's been able to take a couple of trips, you know, to the hoover dam and he went to visit our field office, but, you know, he's putting good time in to get ready for this debate. as you know we had to cut back other debate prep because of the job of being president, but he's taken the criticism well and i think that you'll see him show up tonight well prepared. >> there is a foreign policy debate exploding around him and this is supposed to be a domestic policy debate. the question now as darrell issa and know jason chav fits right letters to hillary clinton demanding answers to what happened in benghazi, questions about whether people there asked for more security, whether there was an intelligence failure, there's talk of plans for retaliation, if the targeting can be found, what is the response to the republican criticism and criticism from some democrats that this was not handled well? >> well, i'll leave some of the details to

, but i certainly would not underestimate what barack obama brings to it. >> reporter: john kerry's playing romney with the president. in a weekend memo, republicans urged kerry to press the president on libya and syria. romney calls obama's foreign policy dangerous. romney's debate plan, clearly and concisely explain how he can fix the economy. >> i expect to be able to describe that in a way people will understand, and if they do, i get elected. >> reporter: his running mate, paul ryan, is already preparing for his own debate a week away. >> i really believe in the policies that we're providing, we're pursuing. and at the end of the day, i'm just going to go in there and be me. >> reporter: and if you can't control what actually happens in the debate, you certainly control what happens afterwards. the spin already in the planning. ryan's going to be with romney in virginia. the president is staying in colorado for a rally there. veronica? >> tracie, we appreciate it. thank you. >>> nato forces in afghanistan say three international service members and their translator were kille

with massachusetts senator john kerry his sparring partner they will head to colorado soon enough, though. both of them are in essence cramming for the big test tonight. number twos were duking it out on the trail and that got some unexpected attention yesterday vice vice presidemitt romney cae by the middle class. >> this is deadly earns, deadly earns. how they can justify how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class is buried the last four years. how in the lord's name can they justify? >> vice president biden just today said the middle class over the last four years have been quote buried. we agree. stop digging by electing mitt romney the next president of the united states. >>> and that exchange right there may be a pretty good preview of what we are going to hear tonight from the presidential candidates this is a debate that will focus entirely on domestic issues. that means a lot of talk about the economy and taxes. back to you guys. >>> thank you, doug. tonight's debate a big talker this morning. we are hearing from the man who helped prepare romney for his primary debate bret

huckabee and michele bachmann's. and michael meehan, former senior advisor for senator john kerry suggesting it is actually a record breaking viewership that watched last night, more than the first debate in 2008. there were huge, huge numbers of people watching last night. today we have seen the obama team come out and first, they tried to say mitt romney was testy. then they tried to say it was just a performance. now they have come out with an ad suggesting that he was rude. and question, ed, whether, a, that is the best we're going to see from the team, and b, does that have an impact on what we saw last night? >> nothing has an impact on the 55 million people who watched it or anybody who picked up a newspaper today other than the fact that the projection is that romney did a very effective job and he won by all determinations, exit polls, any rest of it. he basically came in with a real gameplan. he laid out in a very gentle way, not a harsh way, all the things he thinks is wrong with the president and the president's plans. the president for whatever reason was not able to

for the american people. also democratic senator john kerry called rice, quote a remarkable public servant and state department put out a statement defending rice's comments to those sunday shows. the statement said, quote, at every turn, ambassador rice said she was providing the best information and best assessment that the administration had at the time. based on what was provided to ambassador rice and other senator senior intelligence committee but they knew one day of the assault that it was a coordinated terror attack likely tied to al-qaeda. congressman king wants to know why ambassador rice went on tv five days after the attack and said otherwise. >> the entire administration, miss informed the world and she was our representative to the world explaining what happened. virtually everything she said was wrong and the administration is trying to cover it by saying she was given the best information available at the time. >> molly: a spokesperson for james clapper says assessment was a spontaneous attack but at some point, that assessment changed and the intelligence community determ

of the mistakes owe obama made was having john kerry, the senator of massachusetts play mitt romney. he wants to be secretary of state in a second obama administration if he wants to. i bet he was not tough on obama. when romney began seriously responding to obama's attacks and romney began going on the offensive on obama's record i think the president was stunned and said, hey this isn't what john kerry did in the practice debates. what is going on here. i worked for vice president quail he did a good job on his debate in 92, he we briefed it, he practiced. you going on that stage, it's you and he alone, i give mitt romney a lot of credit for last night. jenna: we'll continue to watch your writing inks in "the weekly standard" and all your appearances on fox. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. jon: president obama is back on the campaign trail today after less than stellar reviews on his performance in last night's debate. a live look now where the president is speaking any minute at an event in denver. chief white house correspondent ed henry is there and joins us live. the president

for the big debates. john kerry, by the way, will be playing the role of mitt romney. he's someone who has a lot of experience debating but also knows mitt romney very well as he comes from massachusetts. now, the big issue, though, is who will both of these candidates be able to sway in the debate? as we know, most americans have made up their minds. we're talking about a small slice of those undecided voters who are watching, waiting to find out exactly who will win. >> okay. let's talk about the republican side with paul steinhauser. word on the street, paul, is that mitt romney has been practicing zingers since august. >> yeah. that's the word on the street. the romney campaign won't go there, carol. all they're going to say is, guess what? he's spending a lot of time getting ready. you're right. i don't have any sound fm mitt romney like dan had from the president. why? he hasn't done an event in a while. mitt romney, carol, he jumps on a plane today, goes out to colorado. he's got a campaign rally there tonight. but after that basically hunkers down. you mentioned john kerry, of cour

. it's spilling over in their districts. we heard senator john kerry speak yesterday. a letter signed, eric. should there be hearings? we have a chorus, bipartisan chorus demanding answers. >> eric: here is how it goes. the timeline. september 11 the attacks happened. september 12 our own u.s. officials know it's terror. they label it terror to release assets to combat terror. on september 13, sorry, on the 12th also, secretary of state hillary clinton comes out and calls it the movie. blame the movie. 13, jay carney did. 14, susan rice does, blames the movie. september 25, barack obama at the podium blames the movie. september 27 our fox reports they knew two weeks ago. what happens today, 28th dn saying well information is evolving and the democrats are you no saying well, i guess we didn't know what the truth was now. we are getting it. here comes the spin. >> kimberly: investigate it after the election. november 7, sounds good. >> andrea: are you going to speak out with the democrats to demand answers or sit here and give us excuses? >> bob: i'm not giving excuses. >> greg: presid

that the administration had at the time. and john kerry, democratic chairman of the foreign relations committee says she's a quote enormously capable person, but republican congressman peter king is it not convinced. he wants to know why five days after the attack that killed ambassador chris stevens and three others, ambassador rice stated publicly on several talk shows it was a spontaneous attack that grew out of an anti-muslim video when there was evidence it was a coordinated terror attack. >> ambassador rice should resign and we should investigate how high up this went and if the administration would voluntarily come forward and why they gave out this false information when they had to know there was so much else out there and yet, they wanted to rule out terrorism from the start. >> sources tell fox news that intelligence officials knew within one day of the attack, that was likely tied to al-qaeda. but according to a spokesperson for james clapper, director of national intelligence, that was not the initial statement. in the immediate aftermath. there was information that led us to assess that th

partner senator john kerry who will be filling the shoes in these mock proposals. the campaign doesn't want to talk a whole lot about the preparation. they don't really want a lot of process stories. and they really want to emphasize the fact that mitt romney has been spending time preparing as they try to set expectations very high for president obama's opponent. >> thank you. >>> and we're counting down to the first debate once again, this coming wednesday. our complete coverage begins at 7 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. let's dig a little deeper right now with ron bron steen, the editorial director of the national journal. if you're looking at all the demographics right now, where are the major differences between these two candidates? >> what you're seeing to a surprising extent in the last several weeks is president obama essentially reassembling the coalition that eleked him in 2008. >> why is that surprising? >> in 2010, democrats suffered big erosion in key parts of that coalition and also saw turnout decline. what you've got are three essential elements, young people, he's

against john kerry and moveon.org said you just wait. and now you're hearing it frantically on the other side, which ironically, again, they are putting fox news in the grand conspiracy. >> what about the conference call today that we have to plan and organize? >> exactly. my point is here we've got a couple of local polls that are showing this, and more importantly, and you guys talk to the romney people all the time. i certainly talk to them all the time. i can tell you, they're not pushing back on these ohio polls. they know they are down. how far? are they five down? six? seven? eight? yeah, probably. does anybody in the romney campaign think they're only down by a point or two in ohio? no. they know ohio is falling into troubled territory. >> and they're pretty far behind in new hampshire. they're fighting a dogfight right now in north carolina. >> yeah. >> it's october 1st. that was a state that among the swing states, that was a state that was supposed to be the relatively easy gift for romney. there's a one or two-point race in north carolina on october 1st. they're facing an uph

is holding mock debates near las vegas with a former democratic white house hopeful, john kerry, playing the role of governor romney. both sides seem to be trying to lower expectation for wednesday, even president obama himself yesterday acknowledged to supporters a rally today, that his debate skills could be rusty. >> folks in the media speculate on would will have the best zingers. or who will put the most points on the board. governor romney is a good debater. i'm just okay. >>shepard: it is likely no coincidence that the president picked never -- nevada for preparations. g.o.p. is back in las vegas, and nevada could really be important, and, difficult, really, for president. it is at the heart of the foreclosure crisis. >>reporter: no doubt and the unemployment rate state-wide is worse than the national average. the president is trying to down play the expectations for the first debate by saying, i am just okay debater the he did well against hillary clinton in the democratic primaries in 2008. he did well against john mccain. obviously he won the whole thing. four years ago, though

is keeping a low profile wile he preps with senator john kerry who is playing mitt romney. but he just stopped by his local cal campaign office and te president told volunteers they're making me do my hom homework. >> bret: ed henry with the president in las vegas. thanks. stocks were mixed today. dow gained 78. s&p 500 finished ahead four. nasdaq fell 3. bring in senior political analyst brit hume from washington with analysis of what the president has been saying on the campaign trail about the economy. good evening. >> hi there, bret. a central premise of the obama campaign is he inherited an economy in freefall. pulled it back from the brink and set it on the right path. but consider this. the economy fell in to recession more than a year before mr. obama took office. by the time he was inaugurated the worst of it was over. the economy was still shrinking but the steepest decline had occurred in the time quarter of 2008. it shrank less in first quarter of 2009. by june of 2009 it began to grow again, marking the official end of the recession. mind you this occurred before almost an

that quiet. we have spotted senator john kerry who is playing mitt romney in the mock debate sessions for the president in the las vegas area. he has been spotted in the lobby of the hotel, with reading glasses and a pile of papers, going through this like it is a final exam and researching every last bit. the president, when he delivered pizza to campaign volunteers to show he has a calm, cool image headed into the debate, he made clear he also things this is like a final exam. he has been holed up, long hours, inside, dealing with a big workload. >> it is all very nice. although they keeping me indoors all the time, that is a drag, they are making me do my homework. >>reporter: the president says he is doing his homework with 8.1 percent unemployment, the deficit, and now we have new numbers because of the start of the fiscal year, reaching $1.3 trillion although the president promised to cut the budget if half in his first term and balance it down the road. that has not happened. this is a debate about domestic issues. that will be on the agenda tomorrow night. trace? >>trace: we k

perspective where romney is a wealthy, very out of touch guy. >> dana: if they had done this to john kerry? that would have been great. >> greg: cliche of libera liberalism, successful people don't care. he doesn't talk to his garbage man. >> bob: gave 3 all liberals -- every one of them. >> andrea: every time my garbage truck drives by, i always wave to them. >> eric: we all do. got to go. coming up, one more thing up next. next. ♪ [laughing] [tires screeching] >> dana: okay. time now for one more thing. andrea? >> andrea: okay. so, if barack obama wants to know what to do, all he has to do is watch the '94 debates. mitt, remember that debate, you had a chance to ask senator kennedy any question. and this is the question that he chose. >> women are concerned about the glass ceiling. women that i have seen in organizations have not been able to have the opportunity they deserve to have in getting ahead in organizations. what are your views about breaking through the glass ceiling? >> andrea: the glass ceiling, you have the line of the senate and that is the question you asked? i hope he

. that can be glorious in so many different ways. that comes up next week. our coverage, as always. john kerry coached the president. rob portman coached the governor. we get the feeling that he will be back. carry remains an open question, doesn't it? >> i think the senator will still be the sparring partner from everything we're hearing from the obama folks. i talked to portman in the spin room for a while. and he said that we are not surprised. not one thing. the only thing that we are surprised that is what they didn't hear. know nothing of the 47% take, nothing of bain capital shimano attacks. they were surprised at how passive the president was, and he said frankly the president was not as good as me. lou: well, modest assessment, appropriately. a sparring partner should seek in some ways to emulate the real thing. sounds like he was on track. good to have you with this. thank you so much. as we mentioned. featuring the vice-president of contenders taking place next thursday in danville, kentucky. the day after president obama tried to recover cover romney reveling in a clear, deci

and john kerry. romney took aim at the unemployment figures today saying that while the numbers may look good on the surface, fewer jobs were created in the month of september than in either july or august and he promised that in a romney administration the jobs picture in america would look very different. >> when i'm president of the united states, that unemployment rate is going to come down not because people are giving up and dropping out of the workforce but because we are creating more jobs. i will create jobs and get america working again. >>reporter: governor romney took aims at president obama's plan to raise taxes on wealthy americans by $1 trillion saying that hits the small job market unduly hard and could result in 700,000 jobs simply evaporating. >>trace: we mention governor romney's second battle ground state the day. how is he tailoring the message to the different communities he is visiting? >>reporter: when he comes to st. petersburg area on the west coast of florida he will talk about medicare. it is an important issue through the entire state of florida. early today

in 2004, george w. bush was 6, 7 points ahead of john kerry. he didn't prepare well. that race went from a six-point race to a one-point race in 48 hours. i think barack obama has to be careful. that he doesn't come across irritable or impatient. perform well from a mannerism standpoint. if he doesn't, this race goes a one-point race. >> donna brazile, matt dowd brings up the mannerisms. you were in the al gore camp, everyone thought that he cleaned george bush's clock, but on mannerisms he ended up losing. >> we remember the split screen. al gore was sitting there, rolling his eyes, looking at george bush and basically, he started -- >> did president obama have that vulnerability. >> look, i governor romney speaks in perfect sound bites. i attended many of those republican debates. one thing that's very good at is turning a negative question, a question directed to him into a positive question. he's a very skillful debater. he's been in dress rehearsal for five years. i suspect that governor romney is going to come well prepared to put the president obama on edge. what will the presiden

by the president's own debate partner, and that's senator john kerry. he says he wants answers. so do we, and do the families. mark, it seems to me the worst part is always the cover-up. now with the state department, now we learn that they knew within 24 hours what happened, always seems that when you try to -- well, let's delete this here, move this aside here, that all it does is bring greater suspicion to what was frankly an implausible story to begin with. >> absolutely. we're hearing all these reports that they knew within 24 hours. as you pointed out, ambassador chris stevens in his diary said he was worried about al-qaeda targeting him. that means there was intelligence somewhere, he got that information, that al-qaeda -- that he was being threatened. so why does this administration, when the ambassador is actually killed, assume that it was just a crowd of people and not al-qaeda? the fact is, they had a record of dismissing and -- this is not just a single case. they have a record of dismissing these terrorist attacks and pretending they weren't terrorist attacks. >> sean: wait a minut

into something like benghazigate. and john kerry has come forward and circulating a letter bipartisan asking the secretary of state to come forward and explain the attack necessary egypt, libya and yemen. when john kerry who is auditioning to be the next secretary of state can't stand it anymore you know you have problems. >> 9/11 was the 11th anniversary and there are 11 opportunities for terrorist, al-qaida to do something like don't you think it was a retaliation over the last couple of weeks, including the dnc and president obama and joe biden said bin laden is dead and gm is alive. that was a bumper sticker of the saying. and that was rallying up al-qaida. why would the administration cover up al-qaida? >> rudy guiliani what is wrong with governor mitt romney saying look at all of the problems here and he wants answers. and i think that governor romney was vindicated by hises when he said the message that we are giving shows weakness and it turns out he was right on the money. >> gretchen: but the way the american public perceives the comments is all that matters when you go to the poll

john kerry. >> i made a mistake in how i talk about the war. but the president made a mistake in invading iraq. which is worse? >> he told cnn the president has been out of practice. >> last debate president had was against john mccain. and he's had no debates in between and it just makes a difference. i can tell you from my own experience. >> back in 2008, the president had plenty of debate practice. sometimes, it showed. >> straight talk express lost a wheel on that one. >> sometimes, it didn't. >> he's very likable. i, i agree with that. i don't think i'm that bad. >> you're likable enough. >> thanks. >> that was a smackdown so unlike his nice guy image, the obama team still considers it one of the standout errors of 2008. tonight, his team says, the president will push mitt romney on specifics. >> he come to this debate with a heavy burden to finally put out those details of where he wants to take this country. >> a message his sparring opponent echoes. >> and about substance? >> sure. want to know. i want to know what's going on. >> policy. >> people are interested in the

back and looked at 2004 for example when you had john kerry and george bush. in sort of late september bush was ahead of kerry by about seven points. after the first debate it was a two-point margin because john kerry did very well. then george w. bush came back and did better at the next debate. but he did narrow the gap after that first debate. and in a race that's as closes a this, wolf, that could make all the difference. >> very close in florida and virginia, for example and a debate tonight could impact the undecided voters. thanks, gloria. >> uh-huh. >>> you want to talk about the trial of the century, it could have happened if the raid in pakistan had unfolded differently. and a woman who came close to death in portland, maine's harbor can thank her lucky stars for some alert bystanders ready to help her. everyone has goals. take the steps to reach yours, with us with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since 1863 we've helped guide our clients, so they can take the steps to hel

'll get the voters. the cautionary note in 2004, john kerry was banking on a similar dynamic. he was hoping a lot of people that voted for george w. bush would say, i don't like the things worked out, i'll go with kerry. they split down the middle, enough to let bush stay in office. >> i thought it was interesting that the voters said, i'm changing my vote, i'm changing my vote. that was the predominant message of the obama campaign in 2008, you know, change, we saw on the signs, the banners. you really see that the romney campaign is trying to tap into those voters, really co-op them from the obama campaign. >> greta: i thought it was a two-fer. i thought it was also an effort to get the women. you know, they could have put men in there, found some men. michael, the women vote was important, certainly in '96. >> that struck me as well. this is a running theme with the romney campaign in the homestretch. you know, i took one thing away from that convention in tampa, it was we love you, women, women are special, women are great. a lot of the romney advertising has a very -- has ha

, john kerry with bush, it helps elevate them. there were times it didn't, bob dole first time didn't help him. >> that's a special case, hard to be on stage with president clinton have that turn out well, he is particularly uniquely capable of drawing in an audience. >> people thought that of reagan, he had a bad first outing. >> rag had eagan had an age thi. clinton is extraordinary. i think debates are so different at this moment in a campaign. we have folks calling this campaign the early voting has started, the sense that this is, you know, still sort of a meaningful contribution is up for grabs. >> mike, watching one of the things we've seen, something the polsters warned about, fewer and fewer folks claim the debates are as decisive for them. >> i think they will be. you still have a small undecided. that's what makes the difference. >> they watch, right? that's the hope, you want to be sure they watch. >> yes, i think both sides want that. ratings will be good for the debates, it is a great opportunity, in terms of expectation setting, they're excellent. wouldn't be at this

are running the process. john kerry is a formidable challenger there. he'll stand in as mitt romney. one thing we're reporting is both sides trying to lower expectations heading into the debate on wednesday, which is key for both candidates, alex. >> for themselves and increasing them for the other guy. that's what they're doing right now. thank you so much. let's bring in the political power panel. jonathan kapart, and chris cofinus and jackie gingrich kushman, author and daughter of newt gingrich and former adviser to her father's presidential campaign. welcome to the throuee of you. five days is all mitt romney has before the debate. the politico article everybody is talking about today say this isn't the chair or ho hum convention or the leaked video or distorted polls or the message or mormonism. it's mitt. does he have enough time for a real game change? >> you know, five days before the first debate, 40 days before election day people go around the country already are starting to vote early voting in a bunch of states across the country. it's unclear whether there's enough time. as that

, here's john kerry. he signed a letter with other senate intelligence committee members for more info on the libya matter. take a listen to this. >> the republicans are working overtime to try to exploit a very normal, run of the course, administrative letter that we agreed to on a bipartisan basis in our committee, simply to get some additional questions put in front of the state department. >> he goes on to say it's all political now. i mean, is this going to become a campaign issue? >> absolutely. you're already seeing it become a big issue on the campaign. particularly on the republican side. of course. the problem, though, is that the house and the senate both adjourned for the rest of this year, up until after the election, earlier this month, and so if this is going to be an issue that republicans wield against the obama ticket it's going to be one that they're going to have to do on the campaign trail. now, that spelled a problem for mitt romney because it's just one of the latest examples of how his campaign has turned its focus away from the economy, the number one issue the

preparations. he will be joined by senator john kerry who is playing the role of republican presidential nominee mitt romney. >>> there is trouble for florida's republican party where a voter registration controversy is brewing. the state's party fired a private consulting firm it hired to help registered voters after learning it may have submitted fraudulent registration forms. suspicious forms have been discovered in at least five florida counties. >>> rick santorum says mitt romney and the republicans should support todd akin. santorum says an akin win is necessary. akin is challenging democratic senator claire mccaskill. he has been criticized by both democrats and republicans for using the term legitimate rape. >>> down ballot politics are next with maryland governor martin o'malley and missouri senator roy blunt. [ male announcer ] now you can swipe... scroll... tap... pinch... and zoom... in your car. introducing the all-new cadillac xts with cue. ♪ don't worry. we haven't forgotten, you still likthings to push. [ engine revs ] the all-new cadillac xts has arrived, and it's brin

president obama has had four mock debates with senator john kerry who is of course no stranger to presidential debates. he also i can tell you had one more practice session last night after president obama had a campaign event in las vegas. now, as you pointed out, both sides are really trying to tamper down expectations. lavishing praise on the other candidate. that is because there's so much at stake in these debates really for most candidates. mitt romney tried to turn his campaign around, but president obama trying to hold on to the narrow lead you mentioned in your introduction. really trying to tamp down expectations. should also point out that president obama holding his debate camp right here in nevada which is a key swing state. one of the states he's hoping to win in november. he has a small lead in this state according to the abc wall street journal poll. he's trying to garner excitement by holding his debate camp here. he had a campaign event last night in las vegas. campaign officials tell me we shouldn't be surprised to see him shake a few hands over the next few

of doing that. and a good opponent which i think he has here. john kerry as his debate, you know, preparation opponent here, that can school him in these things. that i think is important and kerry's quite good. we saw that in 2004. he did quite well in all three of those debates but it should be sobering to romney that kerry did well in those debates but it was not decisive in the election. >> a challenger wins just by being on the stage with an incumbent president, but you have to be ronald reagan and do a there you go again and make something of that in the ensuing campaign and also outside events, obviously, iran, the hostage situation was fatally damaging to jimmy carter. but -- >> you can only make the case that really three presidential elections of the modern elections, the debates really played an important role. 1980 was one of those. >> 1960. >> 1960 and probably gerald ford's election where he said that the eastern europe was not -- or poland was not dominated by the soviet union, made some difference in a close election. but this is going to be a close election. in s

before election day in a razor-thin race between president bush and john kerry. three years after 9/11, it served as a reminder of the terrorist threat and strategists in both parties believed helped president bush. more recently the term october surprise has come to mean a seismic event in the fall of an election year. though most have centered around foreign policy, others have been about the economy, like in 2008. when the economy imploded, john mccain's advisors say his campaign collapsed along with it and never recovered. historians say in order for an october surprise to have a real 11th hour impact, it has to feed into a narrative that already exists, whether it's carter's ineffectiveness or questions about mccain's credentials on the economy. >> it's not so much that suddenly eureka, this is so surprising, so amazing, but rather, people nod yes, this is where we thought things were going. >> reporter: it's possible we may have already seen this election year's october surprise. maybe it was how the candidates reacted to tragedy in libya and the broader unrest in the mideast

down wednesday morning. they don't want people to expect it. shep? >> shepard: john roberts, thanks very much. well, president obama spent the day in nevada. one of those key battleground states. campaign aides say he will be practicing for wednesday's debate with mock show downs with senator john kerry. team fox coverage continues. ed henry is live in las vegas tonight. tell us how the president is trying to lower expectations, ed? >> well, shep, to hear the obama camp tell it, it's almost as if they are not sure the president is going to be able to show up and complete a full sentence. jay carney was telling reporters a few moments ago the president gives very long answers and that's a liability for him in this debate. when is the last time you heard the white house press secretary say the president is any sort of a liability. they are desperately trying to lower expectations going into this. they are playing up mitt romney's expectations by saying he was so gifted in those republic primary debates. take a listen to david plouffe. >> we have expected all along that governor romney

that both ted kennedy and john kerry voted to confirm scalia and it was a 98-0 vote. democrats are seizing on it and talking about some of the positions that scalia has take than they feel are too conservative. too conservative is not what scott brown wants to be associated with in trying to appeal to especially democrats in massachusetts who might be willing to cross over and vote for him. he's under a real disadvantage with the registration here, so many more democrats and as you've been watching the polling there are 18% of those who have been questioned who aren't sure which way they want to go. for elizabeth warren, i was struck by the fact that four years ago, similar question to then senator barack obama, who does he feel he can work with, he mentioned dick lugar. perhaps that's something that popped into her head. not realizing he lost his primary and will not be in the senate. she did not come up with another name and that reaction was an uncomfortable moment for her. the slish for her is could she work across party lines because brown has paint her as being in lockstep with democ

blamed john kerry, the debate prep guy. david axelrod blamed jim lehrer. al gore blamed the altitude. but nobody -- nobody blamed the president for being unprepared and outclassed by mitt romney last night. >> dana, take us deep into the psychology. what was going on? he looked like a man defeated. >> he sort of faded into the background initially. then i thought maybe it will get better. at the one hour mark, i thought wow, this is over. i thought romney was very bold. but he was also something different that he was fresh. and there is a huge gulf between the man that had been painted in the media and by the obama campaign for the last seven or eight months. and then the person they saw last night. that's why i think it was so effective for mitt romney because people were so surprised. wait, like who is this guy? this is not the guy we thought he was. and so he had a great debate. incumbents presidents usually don't do well on the first debate in their election year. so obama will have a couple more chances. no doubt, there is only one person in america who thinks he won the debate.

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